Or do they? You know, if a cheater is never caught, who can he hurt? Oh, let's see... everyone in the class who ranks below him. That could be one scholarship someone doesn't get. That could be one college that turns someone down. That could be one person who was going to be in the top ten, but just misses it. That could be a curve set that only benefits one person: that cheater.
Merriam Webster's definition of "cheat:"
1. To deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud.
2. To influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice.
"Let's face it, most people who rank that high cheat." So said one of my friends today. I suppose he's right. I just like to think highly of those people I call my friends. I have never cheated on a test. I share answers on homework and thoughts on issues with my friends, yeah. We explain the answers and teach each other.
I am angry at people who cheat--that they get away with it, hurt others who actually put in the effort...
Yes, there is a story behind this. I recently found out that a kid in my one of my A.P. classes cheated on the semester exam. You'd think he wouldn't have missed any, right? Nah, he missed 5. I, on the other hand, only missed 2. He asked me today, "Why couldn't you have missed more?" I replied, "Maybe because I actually studied." My teacher (who is pretty awesome) piped in and said "Why couldn't you have missed less?" See, I wasn't in a hurry to look up the answers from the packets we did. I had the answers in my head. You know?
I suppose he'll get what's coming at him eventually.
I'm just saying.
I have come up against cheaters in the art world. They are the people who copy photos from books and magazines and claim the work as their own. When I first started jurying art shows, I was really surprised to see work that I knew had come from another source. I would ask about the piece only to have the artist swear that it was his original work. Now, I don't ask, I tell. I tell the artist that I have seen the piece before, or I have seen the photograph they copied. Then I tell them that they cannot be in the show. Sometimes they test me at the next jurying. Again I tell them no.
ReplyDeleteCheaters are only cheating themselves. When they have to play the game of life for real, they will be in for a big surprise.